Chris Wille: An alternative to Realtor organizations

Chris Wille Real Estate Editor

Friday

Nov 9, 2018 at 3:32 PMNov 9, 2018 at 3:32 PM

Dawn Cohen doesn’t mince words over her enthusiasm about a real estate organization she is launching. The broker-owner of Reality Houze in downtown Sarasota will be playing the part of David opposite the Goliath known as the National Association of Realtors.

The formation of the National Board of Real Estate “is possibly the biggest story of the year!” — emphasis by Cohen in an email to me first announcing NBORE. The fledgling organization will offer an alternative to NAR, the country’s largest trade association with 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

She’s inviting interested parties to the debut of the organization Nov. 19 at 9 a.m. in Lakewood Ranch, 10930 State Road 70 East.

“Realty Houze is a new concept in the art of practicing real estate,” Cohen said. “Until now, your only choice is to activate your license with a company that requires you to join a Realtor board or be a referral agent and not be allowed to practice your craft.

“Well, no more of that,” she said emphatically.

She thinks local, state and national Realtor organizations constrain careers.

Here’s her pitch: “You can join the National Board of Real Estate and join Realty Houze as your broker of record and practice as much or as little as you want. No more referral agents needed.

“You won't have to pay enormous fees to a local, state or national board! You can participate as much or as little as you like while keeping your real estate license active. You went to school, you took multiple tests and you earned the right to activate your license the way it was meant to be used.”

The NAR did not respond to a request for comment, possibly because NBORE is not on their radar.

Since its inception, the NAR has had no competition, Cohen said. “Now you have a choice.”

NBORE members won’t be Realtors, the trademark name for real estate agents with NAR.

“That is a made-up term for the local, state and national corporation that all the members pay into each year,” she said. “The NAR is and always has been a voluntary company.”

It is not mandatory to join the NAR to use a real estate license, Cohen said.

“It would be like: You have a Florida drivers license but you cannot drive on our roads unless you pay and join our organization. The new board has no fees, but offers all the tools a licensed real estate agent needs without having to join a unionized type of entity.”

RSVP for NBORE at nbore.org or call 941-780-1239.

“We are expecting so many people,” Cohen said, “I had to hire security!”

Siesta Key condo project tops off

A distinctly upscale beachfront condominium project on Siesta Key reached its highest point in the construction process with a topping-off ceremony this week.

Called Oceane, the project marks the first condominium project on the island in many years, Randy Moore, one of the developers with Crossgate Partners LLC, told the Herald-Tribune.

Moore announced the project is on schedule, with completion set for July 2019. Two of the six residences have already sold. They carry a hefty price tag — beginning at $3.873 million — but not without merit.

The residences each total slightly more than 5,300 square feet, including around 700 to 900 in balconies. Each unit features four bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms, and a “flex room” for whatever purpose the owner desires.

Floor-to-ceiling, sliding-glass doors open to the rear balcony fronting the Gulf. Each residence comes with a private, poolside cabana and a three-car enclosed garage on the first floor.

“Very few sites like this exist,” Moore said. “I can’t think of any site, directly Gulf front, that is available today that offers the privacy that Oceane does on Siesta Key. There is only so much land, and most of it has already been developed. Other buildings like Oceane on the key just don’t exist.”

The location, close to Siesta Key Village and Siesta Beach, is another plus.

Chris Wille is the Herald-Tribune’s real estate editor. He can be reached at chris.wille@heraldtribune.com and 941-361-4805.

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